Michigan

Heather Edmonds is pictured here with Daniel Hogan and their daughter, Isabella. Hogan was killed in an accident last month, but Flint businessman Phil Shaltz's "I'm concerned about the blueberries" billboard inspired her to see beyond the tragedy.
(Courtesy photo)

This is one of Heather Edmonds' favorite photos of Daniel Hogan and their daughter Isabella. "It really shows what kind of a father he really was," Edmonds said about the photo taken on a family camping trip when father was teaching daughter how to shoot a bow and arrow.Courtesy photo

Funny isn’t it, how one thing can lead to another.

How even surrounded by tragedy, you inevitably end up thankful, realizing just how much good there is in the world.

How the smallest thing, maybe as small as a blueberry, can mean everything to someone.

Heather Edmonds of Fenton knows it. She said goodbye a month ago to her best friend, her daughter’s father, the man with striking good looks and biceps that made her swoon.

It was a tragedy – not a unique one, as Edmonds put it, except this time the man killed was someone she never imagined living without. Dan Hogan, 50, of Fenton died Sept. 26b after being hit by a car as he walked along Old U.S. 23. It was an accident. The driver told police he simply didn’t see Hogan until it was too late.

Life has been a whirlwind since.

There was the funeral and burial. Then, their daughter Isabella, 6, had surgery to get her tonsils and adenoids removed and recovery hasn’t gone smoothly. She found herself sometimes just wallowing. Alone. Watching old videos. Wondering what was next.

Then, she looked around and saw … well, she saw blueberries.

This sudden burst of new perspective started with Flint businessman Phil Shaltz’s billboard, “I’m concerned about the blueberries,” which he put up anonymously in a blatant -- and successful -- attempt to generate interest in the mysterious message.

Ends up his meaning was utterly unpredictable: Blueberries was a call to action, to lend a hand, to care – his own rendition of already-popular appeals to “pay it forward” and to perform “random acts of kindness.” Read the full explanation here.

Edmonds has never met Shaltz but she was immediately moved to respond, commenting on the MLive story: “It is important to remember that in the face of our struggles, that we all face our own blueberries and even a kind word from a stranger can make a difference in someone's life.”

She could see suddenly how so many people had done so much.

How Hogan’s brother came over to help her tell Isabella about her dad’s death and then when Edmonds froze, unable to continue, delivered the grim news himself to his niece. It’s something no one would want to do, but he did just to make it all even a little bit easier for Edmonds.

How Isabella’s kindergarten teacher and principal both came to services for Hogan, even though they’d known the girl only three weeks.

How so many people left message of prayer, support and memories. “They are just Facebook comments but they really meant a lot to me,” she said.

How a total stranger wrote her a note of condolence after Hogan’s death, offering a helping hand if needed.

How one day, when Edmonds called, simply because she needed some juice and popsicles for Isabella after her she got her tonsils out, that the woman who wrote the note came to help. No questions asked.

How Edmonds found out the woman behind this helping hand struggled with back problems and Edmonds was able to refer her to a physician used by a family member.

And, how Edmonds likes to think maybe that referral will make the woman’s life better, too, and in that way, that Edmonds, too, was able to make a difference, at least a little one.

“Everyone wants to have someone come fix everything. There’s no one out there that can fix everything,” Edmonds said. “But if every person would just help the person next to them, the world would be a whole lot nicer.”

***

The once mystery blueberry billboard now features a call for others to share their blueberry stories. They can be shared as a comment on this story or emailed to mraymer@mlive.com.

This is Heather Edmonds’ story – but we all have one, of helping or being helped, of seeing the good around us.

We want Edmonds’ story to be the first of many.

We want to hear your stories. We want to tell your stories. We want others to be inspired and we want to see just how much we can accomplish if all of us care just a little bit more.

Let’s face it: These are the stories the world doesn’t hear enough about our community.

We want to change that.

Share your story in the comments below (or email it to mraymer@mlive.com) and we’ll share them with the rest of the community by featuring your stories on MLive and in The Flint Journal.